Yesterday the kids had already eaten dinner, so I made myself an exotic dinner consisting of catfish and mushrooms with soy sauce, canola oil and garlic. I thought I was so creative.
Later that evening, I noticed a strange rash on my stomach. A while later, the rash spread to my neck.
I ignored the rash, thinking it was just a reaction to a new laundry detergent.
However, the next day the rash had spread to my legs and back.
Naturally, I did what you should NOT do under any circumstances; I consulted the internet. The internet thought it might be scabies, or perhaps shingles. Either way, it wasn't looking good for me.
I even had my soul sister Donna researching what on earth this rash could be. I was texting her pictures like this one:
I thought I'd better make an appointment to see my dermatologist.
Today, I went to the dermatologist. My mom came along for moral support.
The medical assistant asked me a series of questions. One of them was:
Did you eat anything unusual?
Well, I had some shiitake mushrooms. I've never eaten those before.
My dermatologist entered the room, took one look at my rash and smiled.
"This is a classic textbook case of flagellate dermatitis! It's incredibly rare and it's only caused by two things, one of them is shiitake mushrooms! Would you mind if I took some pictures of your rash for teaching purposes?"
"Go for it!" I said without hesitation.
"I almost want to quiz my residents to see if they know what this is." She said with a smirk.
"Why not? Send them in!" I proclaimed.
So the residents piled into the exam room asking me questions to try to figure out what caused the rash.
*This picture was taken by Elizabeth Fader while she was laughing hysterically and saying "only you!"
Here's what they were looking at up close:
Well, that was fun! If I see a shiitake mushroom in a dark alley, I'm running the other direction.
I am the mother and I can confirm all the above. It was hysterical, although itchy. The doctor took one look and almost giggled. "This is maybe the only case of shitake reaction I have seen outside of a textbook." We laughed that Sarah can come with these unusual and unique diseases! Thank God it can be treated and should be gone very soon.
ReplyDeleteMy husband has this right now, only he's been to the family dr. office (seeing two different dr./nurse practitioners) And by his second visit (today) which was two days past the first visit, we have discovered on our own what this was. The doctor didn't know what he was talking about, and just prescribed him some prednisone. I'm going to call the actual dermatologist tomorrow. My question to you is, what did they give you to treat this, and how long did it last? Thanks so much, it's so rare, that it's hard to find much info on the web about other cases.
ReplyDeleteHe definitely should see a real dermatologist. They gave me prescription strength antihistamines. That's all you all really do. It takes about two weeks to completely go away. Ugh! I'm story :(
ReplyDeleteI have this now....Had it 6 weeks ago as well and didn't have a clue what it was.. Woke up in the morning with intense itching in my scalp and the nape of my neck. The rash quickly spread to my torso. On my breast, hips and belly I started getting long red streaks. Then my husband noticed I had them on the back of my neck and back as well. I had a tummy ache for the first two days and then when that passed is when the rash started, so it wasn't an immediate reaction. I had eaten at P.F. Changs so I called them to confirm if there was shiitaki mushrooms in my dish... Yes. there was... Then I remembered I had eaten there for my birthday as well six weeks ago, the first time I got this horrible rash. That dish also had shiitaki mushrooms. IT took some detective work, but I'm glad to know now what it is, and that I can't eat them. But it is a miserable rash.
ReplyDeleteAfter 3 dr visits, last one being urgent care. I got prednisone, dermoside Ointment, Claritin during the day and Benedryl and night. Also took Aveno Oatmeal bathes which helped calm the itching.
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